Abigail Breslin (pictured) is joining Arnold Schwarzenegger in the zombie film Maggie, based on a script from John Scott III. It tells the tale of a father (Schwarzenegger) whose daughter, Maggie (Breslin), is infected by a walking-dead virus that has spread across the U S. Shooting is scheduled to begin in the autumn.

Lucy adds punch to a great cast

Peter Bogdanovich's ensemble comedy Squirrels to the Nuts is gathering actors. Rhys Ifans, Lucy Punch, Ahna O'Reilly and Jake Hoffman have joined a cast boasting the likes of Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson. It's about a Broadway director who meets a call girl and tries to convince her to change her life.

A withering verdict on 360?

Reese Witherspoon has won an Oscar, been arrested for disorderly conduct after one glass of wine too many, and is a producer of note as well. But Hollywood raised a big eyebrow over her latest move. She left Management 360 after 19 years. It was “mutual and amicable” according to 360's Evelyn O'Neill.

Fight Club 2 is in the frame...

There is to be a sequel to Fight Club. But before anyone gets too excited, it's not a sequel to the 1999 movie starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. Writer Chuck Palahniuk is working on a Fight Club comic book follow-up series to his novel, set 10 years on. Hollywood watches from the wings with interest.

Soderbergh spike for Lee film fund

Film-makers are often asked who inspired them to pick up a camera. But Steven Soderbergh recently put his money where his mouth is, donating $10,000 to Spike Lee's Kickstarter online fundraising campaign for a new movie with a $1.25m target fund. Soderbergh said that Lee inspired him in the 1980s.

Grant rides the wave of a sci-fi hit

Susannah Grant, the Erin Brockovich screenwriter, has been hired by Columbia Pictures to adapt Rick Yancey's young adult sci-fi novel The 5th Wave in a planned trilogy. The story follows a 16-year-old alien-invasion survivor who goes in search of her brother – who may have been abducted by extraterrestrials.